Pro-auditorium Sale Group Outraises Its Foe By 9-1 Margin

A committee backing the sale of the West Palm Beach Municipal Auditorium to Jehovah's Witnesses raised nine times more money as its opponent in the final three weeks before today's referendum.

A large chunk of the cash came from outside the city.

Developers, printers and ad firms, among other businesses _ including eight listing Broward County addresses _ helped a political action committee called Alliance for Integrity to raise more than $36,000 from April 1-23.

During the same period, anti-sale proponents collected just more than $4,000 in the final campaign contribution period that closed last week. The information was made public on Monday.

Cliff Hertz, a West Palm Beach lawyer who favors the sale and contributed to the pro-sale PAC, said the issue at hand is whether the city can be counted on to stick to a deal.

A vote against the $12.5 million sale of the auditorium and adjacent land to Jehovah's Witnesses might encourage others to challenge deals made by the city and its strong mayor, Nancy Graham, Hertz said.

The money from the Alliance PAC was used for direct mail pieces, including a letter from Graham urging approval of the sale and using the proceeds to improve neighborhood parks.

However, Richard Giorgio, spokesman for the anti-sale PAC known as the Coalition for a Better Auditorium Deal, said the Alliance report indicates that while business groups support the sale, residents do not.

``Half the money came from outside the city. It's from Miami, Indianapolis, Fort Lauderdale,'' Giorgio said. ``It's comprised of dollars from people doing business with the city.''

Several companies from Broward that made donations could not be reached for comment or did not return calls.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car, doing business in Lauderdale Lakes, gave $500. A St. Louis-based corporate spokeswoman could not find an official to explain the gift.

DeBartolo Properties Management, operators of the Palm Beach Mall across the street from the West Palm Beach Auditorium on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, gave $1,000 to the Alliance.

A spokesperson for the Simon-DeBartolo company in Indianapolis did not return a call.

Ralph Jorge, a small businessman in Fort Lauderdale, however, said he gave $200 to the Alliance PAC because another company he does business with urged him to.

``It was a good cause in which a client asked for a contribution, and we were happy to do it,'' said Jorge, owner of Sun Auto Tops, an auto business that installs sunroofs and leather interiors. He did not want to identify his client.

Several contributors to the Coalition for a Better Auditorium Deal gave $50 or $100.

However, the largest contributor in the final weeks to the anti-sale group was a Boca Raton businessman who has offered to pay $12.6 million for the West Palm Beach Auditorium and keep it operating at his expense for up to five years.

John Politis gave $1,000 to the anti-sale campaign last Monday, the same day he held a news conference to announce his renewed interest in the auditorium in the event the sale with the Jehovah's Witnesses falls through.

Alliance for Integrity raised $57,650 for a campaign that began last October. The Coalition for a Better Auditorium Deal raised almost $15,850 in its entire campaign.